RUGBY FOOTBALL

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 June 1937, Page 12

RUGBY FOOTBALL

district matches ROSS—EXCELSIORS DRAW. West Coast Rugby was played on Saturday in ideal weather, and there was a good attendance at Rugby Park, where three senior matches, and the junior representative match were played. Greymouth juniors were too strong for Westland, the local backs playing well. United further consolidated their position at -the head of the competition, their backs proving too good for Cobden. Ross had their fourth draw of the season in eight matches, holding Excelsiors in a hard forward game at Hokitika. Blaketown defeated Pirates, and now take their place second on the ladder to United, who have had only one defeat (by Blaketown). Celtic scored a narrow victory over Kumara, and Stars showed something of the form expected of a team with such a strong personnel, in easily accounting for Kiwis.. Grounds, generally, were soft, and the No. 2 ground at Rugby Park was in a particularly bad state.

.The. points in the senior championship are now: United 13, Blaketown 11, Excelsiors 10, Ross 10, Stars 10, Kiwis S, Pirates 7, Cobden 7, Celtic 4, Kumara 0. Results were: — Senior: United 18, Cobden 8. Celtic 9,'-Kumara 6. Stars 18, Kiwi 0. Excelsiors 3, Ross 3. • Blaketown 9, Pirates 6. Junior Reps: Greymouth 14, Westland 0. Third Grade: Blaketown 9, Stars 0. Technical 16, United 3.

UNITED WIN AGAIN

Although they began promisingly, Cobden seniors were outclassed by United, in the second half of the senior game on the No. 1 ground at Rugby Park, the competition leaders turning a half-time deficit, of three points, into a ten-point victory. Cobden failed to make the most of their opportunities when they were in the ascendancy in the first half, and at least two certain tries were thrown away. Bustling tactics by the Cobden forwards upset the faster United backs in the early stages, but after the interval, the United three-quarter line showed too much pace for Cobden, who were left standing by Gilbert and Kibble. The teams were as follow: —

Cobden: Staines, Lindbom, King, Gilmour,* Vaughan, Allsop, Kiely, Kirkwood, Thompson, Spencer, Birchfield, Moss, King, Barlow, Watkins. •United: Adams, Kioble, Gilbert, Caldwell, Costello, Chipman, Vincent, Hopkinson, Ironside, Glen) Molloy, Daly, Blair, Grooby, Robinson. Cobden were first to score, a serum just inside half-way resulting in Cobden hooking, for the ball to travel along the line of backs, out to F. Lindbom, who scored a good try well out. King failed to convert. ‘ Cobden 3-United nil. United equalised when, from a ruck, Gilbert made a nice opening, and sent Kibble racing down the line, to score under the posts. Gilbert gave United a twopoint lead, with a fine kick: Not playing to the whistle cost United the next try, hesitancy by the forwards in a loose scrum under the posts allowing Kiely to secure and dive over. Birchfield converted. Cobden B—Uniter8 —Uniter 5. Just before half-time Cobden lost a great opportunity to increase their lead, Arthur King, making a futile attempt to kick a field goal within ten yards of the posts, with only one man to pass.

A period of even play opened the second half, but eventually Kiely kicked out to the blind side, allowing Gilbert to field in the open and send Kibble away. The winger outpaced the opposition and scored a good try under the posts. Gilbert converted. United 10—Cobden 8. Again the Cobden backs swung into action on the half-way line, Costello sending on to Caldwell, to Gilbert, who raced in under the posts. He converted his own try. United 15 —Cobden 8. Gilbert also initiated the next scoring movement,-sending Calwell racing up the line, to touch down in the corner. Gilbert failed to convert. United 18— Cobden 8. Full time was called with United still attacking strongly. Mr. R. Longstaff was referee.

CELTIC BEAT KUMARA Celtic seniors failed to reproduce their good form of the previous week, in their match against Kumara, on the No. 2 ground at Rugby Park. The sodden ground and heavy ball seriously hampered the Celtic backs, and although Maughan kept them well supplied with the ball mishandling was frequent. During the first quarter Celtic appeared likely to have a comfortable victory, but they slipped back as the game progressed, and in the second half Kumara were definitely on top, although they could not score. On the run of play, Celtic were lucky to score three tries while Kumara did not cross their line. A few minutes before time the score was six all. A. Honey scoring, the winning try for Celtic almost at the call of time, leaving the final score, Celtic 9—Kumara 6.

I Celtic were the first to open their account. R. Honey scoring from a loose forward rush. 1). Heaphy was unsuccessful with the kick. The next Celtic try came as the result of a bright passing movement, in which all the backs handled, for Clancy to score. McGinley failed to convert. Just before half time B. Rochford kicked an easy penalty for Kumara, leaving the score. Celtic 6 —Kumara 3. Kumara drew level shortly after the resumption, Rochford again being successful with a penalty. Hard play ensued, without any side scoring, un- , til, from a forward scramble on the Kumara line. A. Honey picked up to dive over. Heaphy missed the kick, leaving the score, Celtic 9 —Kumara G. Mr. W. Rapley was referee. STARS' EASY WIN’ The No. 2 ground at the Park was practically unfit for play, after the early senior match, with the result that it was impossible to expect good football from Stars and Kiwi seniors. Kiwi were a forward short throughout, and were never in the hunt. The state of. the-ground .and ball seriously ham-, pered both sets of backs, but the Star three-quarter line, Mann, Logie and Noonan cut the defence to pieces whenever they got going. Star having a comfortable victory, by IS points to nil. Apart from occasional flashes from the Star backs, which usually resulted in points being scored, the

game was inclined to be scraggy and uninteresting.

The teams were: — Kiwi: F. West, Cooper, Wilson, Roberts (2), O’Brien, McGrath, Panton, Oldham, Chunn, Buckingham, Kelly, Garden, Leslie. Star: Martyn, Mann, Noonan, Logie, Connolly, Murphy, Innes, Dowling, Walsh, Heinz, Peggie, Stuart, Hammond, Bailey, Learmont. Winning the toss, Stars gained the advantage of a light wind. Stars scored early, Wilson kicking to the blind side, when it was fielded by Logie, who passed to Noonan, for the centre to run round for an easy try. Mann failed to convert. Stars 3 —Kiwi nil. After Noonan had just failed, to touch down in a loose rush, Stuart secured from a ruck on the Kiwi 25, and bullocked his way through, before passing to Logie, who raced over in a handy position. Man was again unsuccessful with the kick. Stars 6— Kiwi nil. The reserve spurred Kiwi, but the Star defence held, and there was no alteration in the ..score at half time. Immediately play was resumed, Stars again attacked, two movements being marred by Connolly holding on. Eventually, a well-placed cross kick bv Martyn saw Murphy win the race for the ball, to touch down, well out. Martyn failed to convert. Stars 9— Kiwi nil. A solo effort by Noonan, in which he ran over half the length of the field, shaking off several would-be tacklers, produced Stars’ next score, which Dowling failed to convert. Stars 12 —Kiwi nil. Immediately after, Noonan short punted, and Mann, racing through, took the ball in his stride and flashed over- in the corner. The try was not converted. Stars 15—Kiwi nil. Stars were definitely in the ascendancy, and Connolly, following up fast, touched down a loose ball, almost in the corner. He was unsuccessful with the kick. Stars 18—Kiwi nil. A few minutes before time was called, J. Walsh was concerned in an incident, and was ordered off for striking an opposing player. Mr. H. Rutland was referee.

ROSS 3, EXCELSIORS 3. Ross played their fourth drawn match of the season on Saturday, when at Cass Square, Hokitika, they drew with Excelsiors, three points all. It was an even game, but there was nothing spectacular about it, the play being confined mainly to the lorwards. Davidson kicked a penalty goal for Excelsiors, in the first spell, at the end of which the home team led three —nil. Clarke evened the scored in ■the second spell, with a goal for Ross from a penalty kick. The solid defence of the visitors, both backs and forwards was a feature of the game. Mr. N. Eggleton was referee.

BLAKETOWN 9, PIRATES 6. Blaketown defeated Pirates at Hokitika by nine points to six after a good game, in which Blaketown’s superior fiitness and good forward play was the deciding factor. Agnew opened the scoring with a good try for Pirates, and he also kicked a penalty goal. M. Scandrett and R. Olsen (2), scored tried for Blaketown. R. Olsen was the pick of the Blaketown backs, scoring two good tries, and the Scandrett brothers were the best of the forwards. Agnew was in excellent form in the Pirates backs, and Thorpe and Harrison were the pick of the forwards. JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES GREYMOUTH DEFEAT WESTLAND

On the day, Westland were outclassed in all departments, in the junior representative match against Greymouth, which was played on the No. 1 ground, and only the treacherous footing and the greasy state of the ball prevented the final margin of 14 points to nil being greater. Mr. C. H. Hoskin was the referee, and the teams were as follow; — Greymouth: Allen, Spicer, Millett, Sandman, Hibbs, Garth, Goodall, Dimond, McMillan, Whibley, Griffiths, Beardesley, Abbott, Diver, McKenzie. Westland: Baird, Wells, Stollery, H. Tuhuru, S. Tuhuru, Tainui, Thompson, Paterson, Gleeson, Crase, Leslie, Finch, Havill, Harris, Thorn. In the first spell, the Greymouth team had their opponents penned in their own territory for practically all the time. The Greymouth pack were definitely on top, and Goodall, who played a fine game at half, was able to give his backs a feast of the ball, some nice passing movements being witnessed. Greymouth kicked off from the southern end, and immediately put on the pressure, but it was 20 minutes before they opened the scoring. Westland had some narrow escapes, and were compelled to force down on one occasion. Securing from a scrum, Goodall sent his backs away, and a nice rush ended with Spicer scoring. Goodall converted. Greymouth 5, Westland 0.

The second score came after a loose rush which started near halfway, Hibbs, who qualified throughout as perhaps the best back on the field, broke away, dribbled through, and passed to Beardesley 7 , who scored. Allen missed with the kick. iGreymouth S, Westland 0. A knockon by Spicer, a few inches from the line, rendered abortive a passing rush by the Greymouth backs, and half-time sounded without, addition to the score. In an unspectacular second half. Greymouth maintained their ascendancy, A scrum infringement b.v West land, near their own 25, gave McKenzie an opportunity, and he landed a good penalty goal. Greymouth 11, Westland 0. The last try came when Spicer put in a good run from half-way. He passed to Millett, who had a clear run in. McKenzie missed with the kick. Greymouth 14, Westland 0. In the final few minutes, Westlana attacked, but were unable to get through, and the game ended with the score: Greymouth 14, Westland 0.

THIRD GRADE. Blaketown third graders defeated Stars by nine points to nil, at the Recreation Ground. Watson (2), and Straker scored tries. Mr. E. Burgess was referee. Technical thirds defeated United by 16. points to 3. WEST COAST V. BULLER. SENIOR REPRESENTATIVES. Messrs D. R. Dowell, T. P. Ryan, and J. E. Joyce have chosen the following West Coast senior representative team to play Buller at Westport: on Saturday next, in thiujlundle Cup match: — Full-back; G. Gilbert (United). Three-quarters: W. Mann (Start, J. Noonan (Star), R. Roberts (Kiwi). Five-eighths: N. Collins (Celtic), S. Hendry (United). Half-back: M. Davidson (Excelsiors). Forwards: Front Row: R. Kirkwood

(Cobden), B. Thorpe (Pirates), A. Scandrett (Blaketown); locks, P. Pascoe (Blaketown), R - Gardiner (Ross), side-row, R. King (Excelsior), M. Scandrett (Blaketown); back row, P. Garden (Kiwis). Emergencies: B. Agnew (Pirates) back; H. Jones (Ross), forward.

JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES.

West COast julnior representatives to play Buller on Saturday next at Westport, have been chosen as follows by Messrs H. Silcock and J. Howat: — Full-back: Baird (Westland). Three-quarters: Sandman (Greymouth), Millett (G.), H. Tuhuru (W.). Five-eighths: Garth (G.), Hibbs (G.). Half-back: Goodall (G.). Forwards: Whibley (G.), McMillan (G.), Gleeson (W.), Patterson (W.), Abbott- (G.),„ Beardsley. (G.), Leslie (W.), McKenzie (G.). Emerg.: Backs: Wells (W.), S. Tuhuru (W.); forwards: Havill (W.) and Harris (W.). BULLER JUNIORS ' Following is the Buller junior representative team to play West Coast: Full-back: Richards. Three-quarters: Mullooly, Chandler, Lowther. Five-eighths: McDonald, Bolitho.

Half-back: Smythe. Forwards: McHerron, Bonisch, Hewitson, Nelson, McNeight, Coyne, Kerr, Fox. Emergencies:—Backs: Hill, Menzies; forwards: McGuire, D. Powick.

KING COUNTRY v. WAIKATO

[FEB PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

TAUMARUNUI, June 19

King Country trounced Waikato today by twenty-five to nil. The weather was fine, and the ground fast. The attendance was four thousand. King Country forwards particularly Nelson Leeson and Best were the outstanding Waikato forwards. Crossman played a fine game for the winners, his defence being perfect and he made great openings. Despite the fact of his being marked very closely, he scored a magnificent try, cutting Waikato defence to ribbons. Dixon, Country wing-three-quarter, played brilliantly, scoring three tries, and tackling soundly. Phillips, a big King' Country wing three-quarter, also played great football, but the play did not come his way as often as Dixon’s. Waikato inside backs lacked penetration, though well served by Russell behind the scrum. Robinson, King Country half, played a great game, and was more rugged and versatile that Russell, though Russell’s passes were more accurate for the winners. Dixon 'scored three tries, Nelson one, Crossman one, and Gilbert one. MeNicol kicked a penalty goal. Robinson converted two tries. Mr. Mark Nicholls, an All Black seceltor, was present.

IN OTHER CENTRES.

CHRISTCHURCH, June 19.

Sunnyside 9, Sydenham 8; University 25, Athletic 9; Old: Boys 22, Christchurch 0; Merivale 20, Albion 19: Linwood 32, Technical 14. AUCKLAND, June 19.

Grafton 12, Grammar 8; Marist 11, Training College S; t Otahuhul 8, Technical 3; Manukau 21, University 20; Ponsonby 29, North Shore 8. MASTERTON, June 19.

Red Stars 23, Carterton 14; Gladstone 18, Greytown 13; Martinborough 19, Masterton G. WELLINGTON, June 19.

Poneke 12, Athletic 8; Hutt 15, Wellington College Old Boys 9; Petone 27, University 0; Johnsonville 0, Marist Bros. Olli Boys 0; Wellington 2S, Eastbourne 12.. Second Division: Wellington 19, Pirates 3; St. Patrick’s 1 Old Boys 7, Petone 6; Poneke 11, Miramar 5; Athletic 11, Oriental 7. DUNEDIN, June 12.

Southern 10, Kaikorai 3; Pirates 12, University A 0; Zingari 22, Union 6; Dunedin 6, Alhambra 5; Taieri 27, University ~B IG.